To the editor: In the midst of a global health crisis, suffering, fear and anxiety are to be expected. This should not surprise anyone. In fact, these have always been part of life. The anticipation of one’s mortality at different times—especially now—is unavoidable. Megan Zogby’s latest “Did You Know? Students Still Struggling with Mental Health?” … Continue reading “Letter to the Editor: The “new normal” of learning”
Most businesses and the general public had a brutal year in 2020—perhaps with the notable exceptions of Zoom and toilet paper manufacturers. Universities suffered as well, with enrollment drops and budget cuts forcing them to freeze hiring and salaries, furlough faculty and staff, and restrict spending. Some colleges even went insolvent, with many others on … Continue reading “The Trouble with Faculty Hiring Booms in a Politicized Time”
As students’ grades are falling at alarming rates, so too is their mental health. During the pandemic, students have felt as if they have little to no control over their futures as the world around them changes. According to Insider, “US schools are reporting massive increases in failing grades—and experts are questioning whether it’s students … Continue reading “Did You Know? Students Still Struggling with Mental Health”
Most American children are trapped in public elementary and secondary schools that are either mediocre or dysfunctional. Readers who wonder if this statement is polemical should know that for almost two decades, the federal government’s National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the nation’s highly respected school assessment tool, has documented that on average, less than … Continue reading “Reforming Dysfunctional Teacher Education: ‘Back to the Future?’”
A new leader took the helm of the University of North Carolina system during a tumultuous time. In the midst of a global pandemic, Peter Hans was elected UNC system president on June 19, 2020 and assumed the role in August. The position was previously held by interim president Bill Roper, who stepped in after … Continue reading “A Conversation with UNC System President Peter Hans”
Over 20 percent of college students come from lower-income families, according to Inside Higher Ed. These students face the worst effects of school closings due to the pandemic—whether they’re in high school or college now. Elementary school students may be even worse off. Yale economist Fabrizio Zilibotti co-authored a study that found: Pandemic-related school closures … Continue reading “Did You Know? The Students Hurt Most by School Closings”
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign earned a reputation for having a remarkably effective COVID-19 mitigation plan. Its experience is one that other colleges should pay attention to. As mentioned in a previous Martin Center article, the success of the university’s COVID-19 plan was applauded for strategically reopening in fall 2020. Urbana-Champaign kept case counts … Continue reading “Did You Know? The Campus COVID-19 Plan That Worked”
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, experts within the higher education policy space were projecting that four-year colleges could face a loss of up to 20 percent in fall enrollment. While these predictions never materialized, the political infatuation with college enrollment figures is not a new phenomenon. Barack Obama proclaimed the orthodox view of … Continue reading “Reassessing the College Wage Premium Payoff”
The overall success of online education is being hindered by the fact that some classes just aren’t meant for online instruction. If higher ed leaders can adjust online classes for the future, they may be able to build a collection of online course offerings that don’t make students dread them. For example, Logyn Welborn, a … Continue reading “Did You Know? The Future of Online Learning”
The nation’s cultural elites have been gripped by an intense wave of moral panic since the January 6 riot at the United States Capitol. That panic has found expression in higher education in renewed efforts to curtail the speech rights and academic freedoms of the already near-extinct members of the campus community who dissent against … Continue reading “Silenced by the Sheep: Academia’s New Censorship”